Unranchers get competitive

When Forest
Guardians leased four parcels of New Mexico state land in February,
it became the first environmental group to win permits always
granted to ranchers. The permits, encompassing 2,078 acres north of
Santa Fe, were non-controversial because they have not been leased
by ranchers for seven years, says Forest Guardian Director Sam
Hitt. But that will change in August when his group and the
Southwest Environmental Center try bids against ranchers who are
using the leases. If recent events in Oregon give any indication,
the groups can expect a fierce battle. When Oregon's State Land
Board accepted a competitive bidding plan that opened up the
process to "unranchers' - people who had no intention of grazing
livestock (HCN, 7/25/94) - ranchers took the state to court. They
won last December when a Harney County Circuit Judge ruled that the
plan violated a 1983 policy granting ranchers long-term leases and
renewal rights. Then, in February, Oregon's new governor, John
Kitzahber, joined the land board and voted with the new majority to
overturn the competitive-bidding plan. Bill Marlett, head of the
Oregon Natural Desert Association, says his group is appealing the
Harney county court decision and also suing the State Land Board to
force it to open the bidding process to everyone.